Stichting Veldwerk

Secretariat: Stichting Veldwerk Postbus 163 1850 AD Heiloo The Netherlands

Tel:+31 (0)72-5339585 veldwerk@wlink.com.np IBAN nr. NL51ABNA0543703266 Attn. Stichting Veldwerk, p/a Egmond binnen Bank: ABN-Amro 543703266

Hotel the Mountainhouse

Generously gift of Hotel the Mountainhouse.

The hotel Mountainhouse is in Pokhara at Lakeside, near the beautiful Fewa lake. It's one of the many family hotels, the hotels are having a hard time because of the political and economic situation in Nepal. Four years ago the average yearly occupancy of the hotels was 23 %, which is not a lot. But most of the problems started later on after the royal family massacre, the 11th of September and the violence between the Maoist and the army. To survive all the hotels are trying to do their best to get some customers. At the end of the month regardless of the number of customers who have stayed in the hotels the landlord will come and get the rent, which doesn't make it easy. One day the Mountainhouse family couldn't go in the hotel because of outstanding payments. There was hardly anybody staying!

Because I already knew the family for a little while they asked me if I could help them. Of course I wanted to help them, but with one condition; if they made some profit again a part of that profit would go to one of the project's. The first year it wasn't that much, some money in the donation box and some clothes and medicine's. This was donated to Children Nepal who Stichting Veldwerk has good connections with.

The business went bad to worse and they could hardly pay the rent or support their own family. But the volunteers of Stichting Veldwerk stayed in Hotel Mountainhouse and if their family's came to visit them they stayed there as well. There was also the word to mouth advertising because of the good service they had provided in the past. The hotel is clean and there is a homely atmosphere. In brief, Hotel Mountainhouse slowly made some money again and the past year they have even made a profit.

The question asked with a big smile "What will you do with the profit this year?"
"Hamro Niwas of course!" I answered.

. On the 10th of February Stan Adhikari the hotel owner,
gave me 5000 rupees for Hamro Niwas. This was a great help for Hamro Niwas but also for the Mountainhouse. It means in spite of a downturn in tourist numbers and less money they still made some money above the average hotel at present and business looks like picking up further. It's also good to know that a Nepali entrepreneur has taken on the responsibility of less fortunate people despite the hard times within his own family.

On behalf of the children of Hamro Niwas, many thanks to the Mountainhouse family.